Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Magic C Alphabet Craft


Hi, friends!  It's Ashley from One Sharp Bunch.  Welcome to my first post on The Primary Pack!  I am so very excited to be collaborating with some fabulous bloggers, as we bring you a rainbow of ideas!  Please look for me on the 14th of every month!

http://onesharpbunch.blogspot.com/

Today, I am here to share why C is a magic letter!  My students were so intrigued by this lesson!  Just the mention of the word "magic" peaked my kinders' attention.  You could have heard a pin drop!  Of course, I played Magic C up for a few days before we actually completed this activity, so by then, they were dying to know why C was magic!  Before I let you all in on C's magical powers, I need to let you know that I do not teach the letters in alphabetical order.  I use Frances Bloom's and Nina Traub's Recipe for Reading.  In their book, they begin with the letter C because lowercase c can easily be turned into other letters of the alphabet (o, a, d, g, q).  This book was given to me by my host teacher when I completed my student teaching many moons ago, and I have been using it ever since!


For this lesson, I prepped a 12 x 18 piece of white construction paper with the letter C and a black line.  Then, I pulled out the ever coveted finger paint!

We had to let the paint dry over night, which of course, only created more curiosity about Magic C!  On the following day, we began turning C into something, but we weren't quite sure what!  I just loved all their guesses... octopus, oreo (can you all say Halloween Oreos - To. Die. For), cat, cow, and a host of others.


We continued with our guided drawing by adding eyes and a nose (ovals and an upside down triangle).  Yes, we reviewed our shapes too!  By this point, the kiddos had a pretty good idea of what we were drawing!

Last, we added the mouth and whiskers.  Plus, we began to write "C is for cat." across the bottom.

This part is totally optional, but I wanted to review beginning with a capital letter, using finger spaces, and ending with a period.

Check out the finished products!  Don't these Magic C cats look so precious?!?!  I wish you could see the pride in these kiddos' faces!

After doing some research, I discovered that these types of pictures are called embedded picture mnemonics.  They really are a useful tool for teaching letters and sounds!  AND if you are like me, you are probably wondering... mnemonic instruction is a form of memory enhancing instruction, which has been scientifically proven to improve the storage and retrieval of information from long term memory.  So, these alphabet crafts really do help our little learners remember the letter, picture, and often sound!

When I typed in "alphabet crafts" into the Pinterest search bar, a million different ideas popped up!  Here are a few of my favorites:

How cute is this D duck from Play and Learn Dana and B bunny from an unknown Pinterest source?!?!
 
I also love this P penguin from Rockabye Butterfly and this S snake I found on Pinterest!
 
AND how about this adorable zebra from Blessings Overflowing, as well as the alligator and apple found on Pinterest?!?!  I wish these pictures linked to a source, so I could give credit where credit is due!  I also found an entire board dedicated to embedded picture mnemonics from Storytime Standouts!

http://www.pinterest.com/storystandouts/alphabet-crafts-embedded-picture-mnemonics/
Alphabet crafts are just one way I like to introduce the alphabet.  As we begin exploring letters and sounds, I also like to send home the "Letter Box" and ask that particular student to bring in three-five items that begin with that letter.  The kiddos cannot wait for it to be their turn to take it home!  This student had the letter Cc, and he brought in some great real-life examples... so much more meaningful than looking at pictures or cards!  You can read more about the "Letter Box" and grab a FREEBIE here!

http://onesharpbunch.blogspot.com/2014/09/letter-box-fun-freebie.html

Thank you all for stopping by to read my first post as a Primary Packer, and don't forget to visit me at One Sharp Bunch for more ideas and freebies!  Until next time!
 

14 comments:

  1. Ashley, this is just simply adorable!!! :) I love the guided drawing aspect! I bet the kids will remember this activity for months and months!

    Meredith

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  2. Thank you, Meredith! You should have heard the kiddos trying to guess what we were making! Plus, we followed it up the next day with turning Magic C into the letter o!

    Ashley
    One Sharp Bunch

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  3. I love this, Ashley! I wish I was teaching Kindergarten again so I could use these in my classroom! :)

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  4. I LOVE this post...so many great ideas! I have that book, too. I think I got it at a Orton Gillingham training. Thanks for reminding me!
    Kelly
    MyFabulousClass

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    1. Thank you so much, Kelly! You are right about the book! My host teacher got it from an Orton Gillingham training! I am so happy you were able to find some useful ideas for your classroom!

      Ashley

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  5. Can my son be in your class when he goes to school? Love your ideas and I think using crafts to teach letters is a great idea!!
    Elyse :)

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    1. I would love to have you son in my class, Elyse! It's amazing how much students remember the letters when we do these alphabet crafts. Thank you so much for the kind words!

      Ashley

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  6. I am off to get that book! I've never heard of it and it sounds amazing. I love the finger paint C that turns into a cat. Kinesthetic and meaningful. I want to come join your class!!! Thank you so much for sharing. Love all the ideas and information :)
    Laura
    Differentiation Station Creations

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    1. You are too kind! I love this book! It's like the reading bible, especially for young learners. Combining the many different learning modalities makes learning so much more meaningful and, most of all, MEMORABLEI Thanks, Laura!

      Ashley

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  7. I love these activities! They are so cute!
    Alisha
    Missing Tooth Grins

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    1. Thanks, Alisha! The kiddos sure had fun trying to guess what we were making!

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  8. I love when my son comes home with letter of the week crafts! Love the painting to make the project!
    Jenn
    Crayons & Cuties In Kindergarten

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer! The kiddos LOVED the finger paint! They are still talking about it and want to know when we are going to use it again!

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